“The Boy Child’s Life”, a Nollywood series that depicts everyday deprivations, abuse, exploitations and other challenges the boy child faces, has premiered in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that filmmakers, actors, government functionaries, as well as the cast and crew of the film, were present at its private screening on Saturday night in Abuja.
The 20-series advocacy film brings to fore issues of deprivation, peer pressure and high societal expectations on ordinary male children across Nigeria, highlighting social issues, molestation, drug abuse and unstable family dynamics.
The star-studded series is created by Joyce Nwakanma Productions and directed by ace filmmaker Tola Balogun.
Some of the cast include Sydney Diala, Joyce Nwakanma, and Nollywood young sensation Ebube Diala, who played the principal character in the film.
Some stakeholders, including the cast and crew members, who spoke with NAN on the red carpet, said the project was conceived to lend voice to the struggles the Nigerian male child faces in struggling for survival.
The producer of the advocacy series, Joyce Nwakanma, said the project was geard towards raising awareness on issues affecting the boy child that were becoming national menace because of years of negligence.
“Everybody talks about the girl child, but nobody talks about the boy child, and they do go through a lot; the hostility, assault, and exploitations.
“So many things happen in the life of the boy child while growing up, and we don’t talk about them because they are believed to be the stronger being.
“We intend to do a whole lot about the boy child to make people know that they need to give more attention to their boys as well.
“Just the way society gives attention to girls, the boy child should not be neglected the same energy that you put in trying to raise the girl child, put it in raisin the boy child as well”, she said.
The Director, Balogun, said: “The boy child is always expected to be strong, wise and smart, even when there are challenges people don’t pay attention to those challenges.
“We often forget that in some cases, the boy might not have been mature enough to take certain decisions.
“Because they are expected to be strong, you push the boy child into taking decisions that he is not matured for, and that is why you have issues with the boy child in the society.
“You should not say because a child is a boy, he can take care of himself, and that is the focus of the story,” he said.
Earlier, Ali Nuhu, Managing Director, Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC), lauded the producers of the film for using their creativity to champion a new but crucial narrative about the male child in Nigeria.
Nuhu, who was represented by Mrs Halima Oyelade, Head, NFC Abuja office and Director of Zuma International Film Festival, said the corporation was willing to support projects that promote national good.
“It is something that affects every one of us because if the boy child is not properly nurtured, he grows up to become a nuisance to himself and to the society.
“It is sad when you see lives that have so much potential go to waste simply because nobody was paying attention.
“We at the Nigerian Film Corporation will do anything within our own mandate to support this project, to support the fact that it gets attention of the right people that should actually take action” she said.
NAN reports that representatives of key institutions were present at the premiere, including the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), UNICEF and others.
